Clauses that need companionship

Clauses that need companionship Clauses that need companionship Clauses that need companionship By Michael Independent clauses can stand on their own, even if they are joined together in one sentence. Subordinate clauses, on the other hand, arent supposed to stand on their own. Because they depend on another clause in the sentence, an independent clause. That last sentence, beginning with because, was a subordinate clause that I forced to stand on its own. It would have fallen flat on its face if you hadnt automatically connected it to the sentence before it. The word because is an example of the kind of word that often introduces subordinate clauses. The word because answers a question and your reader has to know what the question is, or it wont make sense. In informal writing, in conversational writing, you can often get away with putting a period after a subordinate clause, even though it isnt technically a sentence by itself. In fact, its often a good thing to do simply because it makes it sound conversational, as long as our reader understands what the subordinate clause is referring to. In formal writing, however, dont put a period after anything but a sentence. Want to improve your English in five minutes a day? Get a subscription and start receiving our writing tips and exercises daily! Keep learning! Browse the Grammar category, check our popular posts, or choose a related post below:Writing Prompts 101Ten Yiddish Expressions You Should KnowPhrasal Verbs and Phrasal Nouns